Elenco Solar Deluxe Educational Kit
- 5VDC solar cells pre-wired in sets of 3 and mounted in a 5" x 4" x 7/16" black-plastic frames
- 5 volt DC motor with leads and a mount
- Another great science kit from Elenco, the Snap Circuit company
- A fan blade and (4) plastic discs from 5/8" dia to 2" dia for mounting on the motor shaft
- A 1 5V incandescent bulb with leads, a sound module with leads, and graphic cards to mount on the discs
Can you set up a solar panel to run a radio, make a fan, or turn on a light? You bet! These do-it-yourself science experiments help kids develop a basic knowledge of solar energy. Each science project involves putting parts together to make functioning gadgets. Kids love science more than ever as a result! A series of do-it-yourself experiments harness your curiosity. Fun-filled experiments ensure all the connections become real. Hands-on learning reinforces knowledge of alternative
Rating: 
(out of 3 reviews)
List Price: $ 19.99
Price: $ 13.29
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Review by Amanda Richards for Elenco Solar Deluxe Educational Kit
Rating:
This one may be tossed - tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar
That tomorrow, it’ll be gone
Just thinking about, tomorrow
Clears my brain from cobwebs and much sorrow
It’s no fun
When I’m stuck with a toy that’s lame and boring
I just stick out my chin and grin and say, ooooh
This kit will be tossed, tomorrow
So I gotta hang on `til tomorrow
For trash day
Tomorrow, tomorrow
I love you, tomorrow
You’re only a day away
Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration there, but really, this toy can’t hold a candle to the Snap Circuits Jr. SC-100 Educational kit by the same company.
For starters, this one requires a screwdriver and spanner to set up, and it’s extremely unlikely that a typical eight year old will be able to do the (few) projects without adult help. The instruction manual begins with line drawings and schematics for connecting circuits in series and in parallel, and continues with the calculation and formulation for such things as “how many rows of solar cells are needed to make a solar panel work for a solar musical unit of 4.5V 100mA”
After they make your head spin (without the help of a solar panel), when you get to page 10, they helpfully add “If you do not want to make any calculation, just skip and follow the simple instructions below”, which is followed by a series of black and white illustrations with captions like “No.2 screw connected to No.4 screw with jumper wire”
After you get all this done, you need to ensure that the panel is in direct sunlight. You can apparently use a 100W bulb 5 inches away from the panel, but only for 3 minutes, as the heat may melt the plastic frame. (!)
We connected the panel to the motor and fan today, and put the panel on a sunny window sill. I’d like to say we were blown away, but as the kit includes no form of storage for the charge, every time a cloud passed over the sun we were out of the flying fan and into the fiery heat of the day.
You can also connect small appliances depending on the required voltage and amperage (up to 4.5V or up to 300mA), but without a battery and charge controller it won’t be very effective.
While this kit has the right idea at heart, they need to work on the presentation (looks cheap), the ease of set up for the target audience (from 8 years old), the instruction manual, and above all, they need to offer a complete solar set-up that can actually make the projects work effectively.
This one is not likely to be a favorite for anyone of any age
Amanda Richards, January 1, 2009
Review by Xilipden for Elenco Solar Deluxe Educational Kit
Rating:
I bought this solar educational kit for my son 4th grade school science project. After reading the reviews from the others, I was skeptical about the product. Since this is the only solar educational kit on Amazon and the price is reasonable right, we decided to buy it. We received the product in two days. The instruction is straight forward and easy that my son can do it by himself without my help. We also bought the spot flash light for about $10 from Home Depot to use it as a sunlight for indoor. This worked really well for the fan, but for the light bulb you need to use the sun light as well. Overall, this product is good for young kid science school project. My son really enjoyed it.
Review by Matthew Nelson for Elenco Solar Deluxe Educational Kit
Rating:
This set is exactly the same as the Radioshack Model 277-0011 “Solar Deluxe Educational Kit”. As the other reviewer stated, this is poor. After returning one set for a defective solar panel, the second set seems to have the same problem. It is difficult to setup due to having to use the wrench. Compared to their Snap Circuits SC-300 (which is excellent), I don’t know why the company failed to use simple snap modules.